Blood and Roses: A Penalty Earned?
by Bellemaine Chercoeur
Summary: An angry Ginny Weasley accidentally hurts Draco Malfoy. Just how will he respond? Set in Draco’s 7th, Ginny’s 6th Year, with ambiguous allegiances on show.


Blood and Roses: A Penalty Earned?  
By Bellemaine Chercoeur  
bellemainec@yahoo.com

  


Rating: M (a very slight bit of innuendo, a bit of violence and implied violence)  
Summary: An angry Ginny Weasley accidentally hurts Draco Malfoy. Just how will he respond? Set in Draco's 7th, Ginny's 6th Year, with ambiguous allegiances.  
Ship: Draco/Ginny (implied)  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy and all other characters, places and whatever mentioned by name that you recognise belong to that paragon of modern literature, J.K. Rowling. No infringement of her copyright is intended, no profit is being made, and believe me I was there at the store to buy Order of the Phoenix the moment it went on sale, I'll be there for the next one as well. 

~~~~~~~~ 

A truly incensed Ginny Weasley stormed down the dark hallways to the Quidditch storeroom. Her shining red hair was pulled into a ponytail that bounced with each angry step, and her satchel jounced against her hip. Brothers! If there were any justice in the world, she thought, a hippogriff would fall from the sky and squash him. Or possibly one of Charlie's dragon's would get loose and swallow him on the Quidditch field. Or maybe one of his stupid predictions for Professor Trelawney would come true and he would choke on his own glass of pumpkin juice...... She yanked the heavy door open, threw her bag onto the nearest table and valiantly fought the urge to stamp her feet in frustration. Instead, she settled for slamming the door shut. 

Well, attempting to slam the door shut. Just as she had applied the requisite amount of force to the door, someone else decided to try and enter the storeroom. Ginny watched in horror as the door struck whomever it was in the face, the sickening thud telling her that bones had possibly been broken. 

She winced in sympathy, then rushed towards the door, intending to help the injured. Sympathy and helpful intentions were submerged in panic as she heard a viciously eloquent voice cursing. Without warning the door swung upon, narrowly missing Ginny as she leapt into its shadow. She flattened herself against the wall as the door swung open, skimming past her nose. A tall figure, bent in pain, staggered into the room, and a sick feeling of certainty swelled in her stomach. 

Silver blonde hair, cut glass accent, piercing grey eyes that pinned her in place against the the wall. Draco Malfoy. Why, in the name of any god that had ever existed, did it have to be him?  
**  
The burning pain choked Draco as he stumbled into the Potions classroom. His nose felt like it was on fire, and blood streamed over his cupped hands to spatter on his robes. His Prefect's Badge was already marred by scarlet. Blindly he pushed the offending weapon, normally known as a door, closed behind him. 

Trying to keep his breathing both shallow, and only using his mouth, Draco looked around trying to find a distraction from the pain. It was thus that he found Ginny Weasley, who obviously had something to do with his current condition. A tell tale blush had turned her pale cheeks the colour of raspberries, and the guilty look on her face confirmed his suspicions. 

She opened her mouth to speak, but he forestalled her with a quelling look and an emphatically raised hand. He tilted his head back, hoping to lessen the blood flow. Something soft and white brushed his fingers, and he caught it in his left hand. A handkerchief; a small, white square of cotton, with pink rosebuds and a carefully embroidered "V". Momentarily forgetting that his ability as a wizard would have allowed him to transfigure anything into a more substitute not to mention manly handkerchief, Draco nodded once in Ginny's direction, then applied the handkerchief to his nose, where it quickly became sodden with his blood. Pain was quickly focussing his thought processes. 

Ginny stood quietly beside him, not daring to speak, wringing her hands. She was really not looking forward to the upcoming confrontation. She had witnessed enough of Malfoy's verbal sparring matches with Harry and Ron to know that he was both cutting and cruel; and in this case she really did not feel able to defend herself. Under normal circumstances, she would have tried to give as good as she had gotten. After all what other bonuses do you get with growing up with six brothers than an ability to hold your own in an argument occasionally? Yet, in this case, she had broken his nose. She hadn't meant to, it was an accident, but she had slammed the door, and he was bleeding all over his school robes. Somehow, she didn't think offering her handkerchief was going to even the scales. 

"What the bloody hell where you doing, Wealey?" 

Oh, help. Ginny looked, and indeed the bleeding had finally stopped. He did not look happy. At all. 

"I'm sorry, Malfoy, I didn't mean to..." 

"Didn't mean to? I should hope not, Weasley, or I might begin to think that you are as stupid as your brother. Don't you realise what you could have done to yourself? Don't you realise that by injuring me you could have signed your own Death warrant? What are you even doing here?" 

Ginny's eyes narrowed; this was insufferable arrogance, even for Malfoy! "Get down of your high horse, Malfoy! It was obviously an accident. I didn't even know you where there. I was just shutting the door, and it was bad luck that you happened to be coming through it at the same time! As if I were deliberately trying to hurt you." 

Seeing her expression, Draco smiled lazily then sauntered towards her. Ginny backed up, realising only too late that she was already standing against the wall. Draco had her neatly trapped between the wall and door. "If I believed that you were truly trying to hurt me, Weasley, you would not still be standing here, I would already have disposed of you." 

The look in his eyes frightened her. She bit her lip and tried to keep her voice steady. "You don't scare me, Malfoy." 

He laughed, amusement rolling over his words. "Are you sure of that? Do you really think you are safe? Safe with me standing right here in front of you?" 

She took a deep breath. "You wouldn't hurt me." 

Malfoy simply raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure of that?" 

She nodded, emphasising her words. "Yes. If you wanted to, you would already have tried to. You are a bully, Malfoy, but you only use words. You don't ever attack physically." 

He raised a hand, and delicately lifted a lock of shining hair away from her flushed cheek. "And precisely where did you come up with this revelation?" 

She locked her gaze to his. "It's obvious. You could have turned Crabbe and Goyle into a goon squad, but you didn't. You use intimidation, your family name and threats, but you don't carry them through physically. You are too intelligent for that." 

"Really? You intrigue me, Weasley. And what is too stop me from moving into physical violence right at this moment?" 

"You wouldn't hit a girl. Even when confronted with violence, like the time Hermione slapped you, you did not retaliate and strike her in return. And then, in the wizard duels, you attacked Harry but not with... oh what do they call it.... lethal force. You knew that you would not get away with hurting Harry, and you knew Snape would protect you from harm." 

His voice turned icy. "I need no one's protection." 

Ginny paused, weighing her words. "Perhaps I should have said guidance." 

Draco raised a finger, and gently brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. "Is this where I tell you that you see too much, and that no one knows me like you do, Miss Weasley?" 

Aghast at her own daring, Ginny raised her hand and repeated the gesture for him, smoothing her own fingers over his cheek, before he caught it in his own. "No, Draco. I don't expect that. I just expect you to think of something remarkably cutting to say, before you storm out of here, deducting 50 points from Gryffindor for my dangerous method of shutting doors, and tell the entire school how clumsy Ginny Weasley is." 

A spark of humour flared briefly in his eyes, before they returned to their normal icy state. "And if I decided not to storm out of here, Ginny, if I decided to prove to you that I had no aversion to using physical force against you, what would you do?" Placing one hand against the wall next to her head, he leaned closer, his superior height and breadth trapping her against the wall. 

Ginny kept her eyes locked with his, praying that he would not notice her wand until it was too late. His breath swept over her cheek and then his gaze dropped to her mouth. Nervously, she licked her lips, and watched as a corner of his own mouth lifted in response. "No plan, Weasley? No idea on how to...respond... to me?" 

As he bent his head towards her, her fingers locked around her wand. Before she could change her mind, she pointed her wand at a rather sensitive portion of his anatomy, jabbing it hard enough to attract his attention. 

"I imagine ..this.. would be an.... adequate response." Her voice was scratchy and her words stilted, but she was proud of having managed to force them past her dry mouth. Warily, she waited for his response. 

Draco took his time. He did not bother to glance down, and instead contented himself with watching the girl who had been trapped before him. Before his eyes, she had managed to transform herself from victim to adversary, a fact worth noting for future reference. Her hair was now tumbled around her pale face, and her eyes were steady. Only the slight shaking of her lips betrayed her. She could be taught, she could be shown how to avoid those telltale signs that betrayed those wearing masks. Abruptly he forced himself to cut off that train of thought, and concentrated instead on her face, her lips. Her eyes. 

Under his scrutiny, Ginny felt the nervousness increase. Surely he could have reacted? Surely he must know that with the right hex she could not only escape, but also damage him permanently? Why wasn't he saying anything? She felt the blush staining her cheeks, fought to keep her lips from shaking, and was mortified to feel her heart rate start to speed up the longer he looked at her. What was he going to do? 

Finally, Draco pulled back slightly, a smile briefly curving his lips. "Touche, Weasley. I didn't think you had it in you." 

"I'm full of surprises." Ginny heard the words, realised that she had spoken them and then closed her eyes in embarrassment at the ridiculousness of her words. Anyone would think that she was trying to encourage him or something! 

Draco wisely ignored her words, and took advantage of her closed eyes to lean forward and place his lips against her ear. He savoured the shock which caused her to jump and her eyes to fly open as he whispered, "You owe me a penalty, Ginny. I will collect it." 

He straightened, carefully concealing his pleasure at her shocked expression. He brought her trapped hand between their bodies, gently unfolding her curled fingers. He traced the loveline along her palm, and said, "A penalty of my choosing, at a time I deem appropriate." Before she could react, he pressed a soft kiss there. Ginny tried to jerk her hand away, but his grip was too strong, and he curled her fingers over her palm before releasing it. 

Without another word, or a backward glance, he strode from the room. Uncaring, Ginny let her wand fall to the floor, and slumped against the wall. A penalty? She owed Draco Malfoy a penalty of his choosing? The same Draco Malfoy who had just threatened and intimidated her? The Draco Malfoy who she had unwittingly attacked with a door? The very same Draco Malfoy who had kissed her hand, a kiss if she were honest with herself, she could still feel burning on her skin? 

This could not be good. 

Where did they go from here? 

Finis.  


------------------------------------- Author's Notes ----------------------------------------

This originally was going to be a response to a One Hour Challenge where your couple of choice was locked in a cupboard. Obviously, that premise changed a bit. I have a couple basically, and forgot the cupboard bit! Anyway, it took a little over an hour to finish up, and it is very different to my other HP fic out there so I hope you enjoy my first excursion into the Draco/Ginny ship. 

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